The Sixers are 45 games in to the 2012-13 season and that’s how much tick rookie Arnett Moultrie has received this year.

And now with Sixers all-everything forward Thaddeus Young sidelined for the next three weeks (at least 8 games) because of a strained hamstring, the little used Moultrie (15 GP) will be expected to make a positive contribution to this team and help keep the 7-6 within arm’s reach of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

If the 6-10 rebounding machine from Mississippi State seems rusty at first or heaven forbid fails overall to make a contribution to the Sixers efforts during this upcoming Thad-less stretch, Doug Collins has no one to blame but the man in the mirror. We all know that DC has a stubborn attitude towards playing rookies and this maybe the year it finally come back to haunt him.

After the jump, I’ll show you some disturbing stats which indicate that with regards to Moultrie this year DC has taken his rookie issues to new heights and as a result DC has put the Sixers in a precarious situation while Thad is sidelined.

Among all NBA rookies Moultrie ranks…

53rd (T) in games played with 15.

55th (T) in minutes per game with 5.5 per.

64th (T) in points per game with 1.2 per.

A deeper analysis of the stats for the 2012 NBA Draft Class shows that only six players taken in the first round have appeared in fewer games then Moultrie. They are Tony Wroten, Jr, (14 for MEM); Kendall Marshall (14 for PHX); Terrence Jones (11 for HOU); Miles Plumlee (7 for IND) and Fab Melo (1 for BOS).

Additionally, a quick look at the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft shows that unlike Moultrie, there are a number of 2nd rounders who are being allowed to contribute nightly to their respective team:

#31 – Jefferey Taylor (CHA): 46 games / 21.9 mpg. / 7.4 ppg.

#33 – Bernard Jones (DAL): 47 games / 12.1 mpg. / 3.8 ppg.

#34 – Jae Crowder (DAL): 44 games / 17.4 mpg. / 5.5 ppg.

#35 – Draymond Green (GSW): 47 games / 14.4 mpg. / 3.2 ppg.

#40 – Will Barton (POR): 41 games / 10.6 mpg. / 3.1 ppg.

The above evidence points to a huge disparity in the amount of playing time Moultrie has received when compared to other rookies around the League.

Let’s also look back at DC’s history with the Sixers organization for comparisons sake. Below are the stats for DC’s last two rookie bias candidates through 45 games played by the team during their rookie season:

Evan Turner (2010-11): appeared in 43 games / 22. 4 mpg. / 7.4 ppg.

Nikola Vucevic (2011-12): appeared in 36 games / 16.7 mpg / 7.8 ppg.

There are some obvious differences in the Turner and Vucevic cases that come into play here. Turner was the #2 overall pick in the 2010 Draft, so obviously he would be expected to play right away as a rookie and play a lot. Of course Vuc was unexpectedly thrown into the spotlight in 2011-12 when Spencer Hawes got hurt. Still I don’t think it’s a huge stretch to compare the rookie seasons of these Sixers players and the evidence quickly points out that Turner and “Big Nik” enjoyed significantly more playing time during their rookie campaigns then Moultrie has been receiving in his.

Now over the next eight games Thad’s blown hamstring will push a still very green Moultire into a key role for the Sixers. Had Doug found Moultrie some floor time along the way this season, the rookie would be much better prepared to contribute during this upcoming stretch. But DC is stubborn and didn’t find #5 any minutes. So now if Moultrie fails us over the next three weeks, is it his fault or Doug’s?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 06th, 2013
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Since 1998-1999, 54 players have had seasons where they averaged 10+ rebounds, less than 1 block and less that 1 steal per game. Quentin Richardson and Reggie Evans are the only 2 guys who have become NBA players. Q-Rich was a McDonald’s All-American and C-USA player of the year as a freshman when he averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds. Reggie Evans transferred from a JUCO school to Iowa and proceeded to average 15 pts. and 12 rebounds, Evans led the NCAA in rebounds and free throw attempts per game (9.9) that season.

Moultrie has no business being compared to Q-Rich and realistically has no business being compared to Reggie Evans either. Evans has put up some historically great rebounding numbers in the NBA which wasn’t expected by anyone even though Evans was a voracious college rebounder.

Since 2009-2010, 82 college players averaged 35+ minutes per game and averaged under 1 block and steal per game. Only Brandon Knight, who was the 6th ranked HS prospect in the country and 8th overall pick after his freshman season, was even a 1st round pick. None of the other 80 players have played any significant NBA minutes

History dictates that Arnett Moultrie will have a great career in Poland…..

There’s really nothing more that can be said about you besides that you are a joke. You should be fired from this site because instead of being able to respond to well-thought out comments and debate, you simply dismiss anyone else’s opinion besides your own, illogical fallacies. Congrats Steve, your job is to attract readers to the site and you did a decent job of getting discussion going for about a month but you’ve officially lost me. To the other writers on the site, I enjoyed reading your articles but giving a guy like Steve Toll any responsiblity goes to show that you are missing something. Steve, good luck with your ignorant and sad existence and I bid you farewell.

P.S- your blunt response just goes to show you simply lack the intelligence to understand even the most basic of ideas and logical analysis.

Hes going to have a very hard time out there based on what I saw in Orlando game. Outside of moving very well he doesn’t have a obvious skill set. I think his rebounding skills are a little overblown as well. Pretty sure he put up mediocre numbers in the D league, which doesn’t bode well. With that being said he’s still better then Kwame, and has a good amount of potential given he’s a long big who can run the floor.

prediction: 15 mpg 4ppg 3.5-4.00rpg .5bpg and lots of missed rotations over the next 8.

-Steve please include his entire college career not just his one season as he has averaged a steal over the course of his college career, which would probably remove him from he company your placing him in. SORRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYY

Moultrie looked pretty good in the loss to Indiana. He showed some shooting touch, rebounding, and a penchant for cutting to the basket and finishing strong which we sorely need at the 4/5. Analytics are falling out of favor in the NBA for a reason. Ask the Rockets how the Steve Toll methodology has worked out for them over the past five seasons. Excited to see if Moultrie’s motor keeps going strong in the next few weeks while Thad is out.